Previous federal government employee charged with falsely accusing coworkers of collaborating in Jan. 6 Capitol attack

Washington — A former federal government employee with ties to federal intelligence organizations was arrested in Virginia Thursday and accused of sending phony guidelines to the FBI in which he falsely accused a number of coworkers of using element in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach, recently unsealed court documents disclosed. 

Investigators alleged in court docket documents that Miguel Zapata anonymously submitted information and facts about seven people with whom he had as soon as worked in the months right after the attack, crafting that they “espoused conspiracy theories” and “took aspect in the insurrection.” 

In accordance to prosecutors, amongst February and April 2021, Zapata allegedly concocted fake tales about his previous coworkers’ involvement in the situations of Jan. 6 and submitted them by way of the FBI’s nameless idea line that has been made use of to obtain facts adhering to the Capitol breach. Around 1,300 people today have so considerably been charged for their alleged involvement. 

“These suggestions variously alleged that the authorities staff members and contractors were being bodily current at or involved in the attack at the Capitol or had shared categorised info with folks and groups present at the riot with the intent to aid these groups in overthrowing the United States authorities,” charging files stated. 

Zapata is accused of sending the house addresses, entire names, and safety clearance amounts of his former colleagues to the FBI, which prompted the FBI and some of the victims’ employers to start investigations into their alleged carry out centered on the defective information. 

“None of the seven authorities employees and contractors were being in Washington, D.C., on January 6 or attacked the Capitol,” prosecutors verified in courtroom records.

In 1 submission from February 2021, Zapata allegedly wrote that 1 individual “espouses extremist ideology in the function location and has bragged about [his/her] affiliation with the Boogaloo Bois, ProudBoys and Oath Keepers,” extremist groups whose users and associates have been charged in the assault. 

A person of the folks whom Zapata is accused of flagging to the FBI was his former method manager who hired him in 2015, in accordance to courtroom papers. 

In another tip, submitted in April 2021, Zapata is accused of telling investigators that one of the victims used to “share categorized info with these teams in an hard work to guide them succeed in overthrowing the governing administration.”

Zapata was charged with just one depend of providing materially wrong statements to law enforcement. He has yet to be arraigned and built his first overall look in federal courtroom on Thursday, exactly where a magistrate judge unveiled him on personal recognizance. 

His protection lawyer did not right away answer to CBS News’ ask for for remark. 

Despite the fact that the faux suggestions were being submitted anonymously, investigators claimed they tracked Zapata down for the reason that all seven entries ended up made from 4 precise IP addresses related with the defendant’s accounts. The similarity in the prepared language and the victims’ connections to the federal governing administration prompted the FBI to glimpse further into who had truly submitted the grievances.